Stay Tuned: Family friendly viewing for Thanksgiving Day

Tuesday

Nov 20, 2018 at 1:01 AM

Pull on your stretchy pants and enjoy some holiday viewing this week with a celebration of man’s best friend, giant floats in New York City and nostalgic celebrity visits home.

Dispatches: Weekly TV newsIconic villain Lex Luthor is coming to the CW’s “Supergirl” in the form of Jon Cryer. The “Two and a Half Men” actor will have a recurring role and will first appear as Luthor in episode 15 of season four, scheduled for broadcast sometime in 2019.

ABC is showing some big love to superhero drama “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.” The network has renewed the show for a seventh season, a mere six months after it was picked up for a sixth season, which hasn’t premiered yet.

Contenders: Buzz worthy shows to watch this weekIn “Escape at Dannemora,” (Nov. 18, 10 p.m. ET, Showtime) Patricia Arquette stars as Clinton Correctional Facility employee, Joyce Mitchell, who aided in the real life 2015 escape of two convicted murderers from a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, New York. The bizarre story involves a love triangle, a jailhouse art ring and years of manipulation.

Dive into some glamour and espionage before overindulging at the holiday table with spy thriller “The Little Drummer Girl” (Nov. 19, 9 p.m. ET, AMC). Based on John le Carre’s best-selling novel, the story follows an actress who gets entangled in spy games after she meets a mysterious man while on vacation in Greece.

On Thanksgiving Day, NBC will air “Macy’s 92nd Thanksgiving Day Parade” (9 a.m. ET) followed by “National Dog Show Presented by Purina” (12 p.m., all time zones). With 24 million viewers last year, the annual parade was the no. 3 most-watched entertainment program of the year, behind the Oscars and the Grammys. Not far behind in viewership, the popular national dog show is including two new American Kennel Club sanctioned breeds this year: The Nederlandse Kooikerhondje (sporting group) and the Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen (hound group), bringing the total recognized breeds to 192.

On ABC, Thanksgiving Day gets nostalgic with “I’m Coming Home” (10 p.m. ET). Follow actress Kristin Chenowith, country music star Jake Owen and “Shark Tank’s” Daymond John as they each visit their childhood homes.

It’s jazz singers plus the Great American Songbook on “Tony Bennett & Diana Krall: Love is Here to Stay” (Nov. 24, PBS). In this “Great Performances” special, Bennett and Krall pay tribute to the songwriting duo of George and Ira Gershwin with interpretations of favorites including “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”

Because it’s never too early for a holiday classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” kicks off the season on Nov. 23 (8 p.m. ET, NBC).

Report Card: A look at ratings winners and losersWinners: CBS comedy “The Neighborhood” is performing for the network in the adults 18-49 demographic, rising above 6 million viewers last week. Fox’s Tim Allen comedy “Last Man Standing” has little to worry about, with renewal almost guaranteed.

Losers: Comic book-based show “The Gifted” needs the gift of viewers. Its sophomore slump shows no signs of improving, while fellow Fox show, “REL,” is also performing poorly. — Melissa Crawley is the author of “Mr. Sorkin Goes to Washington: Shaping the President on Television’s ‘The West Wing.’” She has a Ph.D. in media studies and is a member of the Television Critics Association. To comment on Stay Tuned, email her at staytuned@outlook.com or follow her on Twitter at @MelissaCrawley.

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